Twinkle Star Sprites

Twinkle Star Sprites is like no other game on the Neo-Geo, and is one of the most unique shooters ever imagined. At first pass, arcade goers in 1996 could have easily mistaken Twinkle Star Sprites as a vertical scrolling cute-em-up, but that is FAR from what this game delivers. ADK, of World Heroes fame, developed this game about mid-way through the Neo-Geo's life cycle after completing their World Heroes series of fighting games with 1995's World Heroes Perfect. There is little sales data on Twinkle Star Sprites, and its critical reception is not well documented around the internet. That said, when I first discovered this gem in the early aughts (the "2000's") it became a mainstay in my posse's competitive game rotation when we would get together for our throw-downs. Sure, it's super cute, but the competitive edge this game brings to the table is razor sharp. 

Twinkle Star Sprites is a hybrid vertical shooter and puzzle game. Much like Sega's Puyo Puyo or Capcom's Puzzle Fighter, the screen is split in two and each player controls one side of the screen. Rather than deal with organizing falling blocks, the puzzle element is set up as a vertical scrolling shooter where well timed chain reactions of explosions create "counter" enemies that fly to your opponent's side that can do massive damage. If you're fast enough, you can counter these counters in your own chains to create even more damage opportunities. Each volly increases the power of the attack and all the while you have normal enemies to deal with. If counter enemies are caught up in the chain explosions of normal enemies on your side of the screen, they will become part of both your attack and score boost. 

All of the nine characters have unique shot and charge shot abilities that can be leveled up twice, as well as special attacks and boss attacks that further create chaos on the opponent's side of the screen if certain conditions are met. Action is fast and frantic, with the stakes getting higher and higher the longer the round plays out. It takes a lot for the Neo-Geo to slow down, but there are often hundreds of sprites covering large swaths of the screen so when it gets particularly chaotic the game will slow down to a crawl for a few seconds. This doesn't ruin the flow of the game, as slowdown often does, because it actually helps you catch your breath a bit as the game can get a bit overwhelming for new players. 

Graphically the game is solid, and puts the brighter color spectrum of the Neo-Geo to great use. Everything has a cute, anime vibe to it. Animation is varied and backgrounds are bright and well detailed. There are a few stages where the enemy types get a bit lost and hard to see in the background due to similar colors being used. That's a small gripe, though, in an otherwise beautiful game.

Music is good, if not particularly memorable. It gets the job done fine, but pales in comparison to ADK's prior work on the World Heroes series. The story mode is non-sense and is pointless to go into detail about. That said, there are a few "boss" characters that are not selectable in 2 player mode you get to see in story mode, which is kind of cool. 

Basically, if you like puzzle games or shooters or both, you'll LOVE Twinkle Star Sprites. I do enjoy a good vertical shooter, but I'm not a huge fan of puzzle games, so Twinkle Star Sprites is well suited for a player like me. I've never heard anyone say they do not like this game, and honestly, I'm not sure how you couldn't! It's bright, colorful, loads of fun, is highly unique (there has never been a game like this before or after its release), and is one of the downright most competitive games I've ever played. 

So, how should you track this gem down? Well...the AES release is prohibitively expensive even for the most ardent Neo-Geo collectors. It saw a release only in Japan, and given the limited release numbers the game sits right around the $8000+ mark in the 2023 retro game market - if you can find it. It did see a release on both the MVS and Neo CD, but even those releases are quite scarce and expensive with the MVS version hovering around $600 and the Neo CD version around $150. That said, you can find this game on multiple modern digital markets including Steam and GOG on PC, and in some modern retro Neo-Geo collections and mini-consoles. Twinkle Star Sprites did see a sequel on the PS2 in Japan in 2005, which is reasonably priced and includes a perfect port of the Neo-Geo original once you beat that game's story mode. No other games in this series have been released, and that is an absolute shame as this is one of the most satisfying games you'll ever play. A hidden gem for sure, you need to play this game any way you can! 

Just - maybe forgo the AES release unless you have a very stable income...